


Just you and me

by ChocoNut



Series: Modern JB love [8]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Love Confessions, New Year's Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:13:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22070842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocoNut/pseuds/ChocoNut
Summary: On New year's eve, Jaime and Brienne, the only singles in their group are left to each other's company.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Series: Modern JB love [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1557871
Comments: 22
Kudos: 144





	Just you and me

**Author's Note:**

> A little fluff again!  
> Happy New Year and hope you enjoy it!  
> Thanks for reading.

“So,” Jaime drawled, “here we are, just you and me, the singles of the group stuck together while the couples are away, having fun in each other’s company.” Leaning across the table, he raised his glass towards her. “May we find someone and settle down next year at least.”

Brienne did the same with a nod of acknowledgement and a smile. “Hope we don’t end up dying single.” 

He observed her over the rim of his glass as he took a sip. The smile didn’t quite reach her eyes and there was a note of sadness in her voice. They had been here about an hour and a half, for drinks and dinner to bring in the New Year, and while she had been enthusiastic about this not-at-all-a-date (she had been vocal enough to make this clear), he could sense that her heart was not in it. While she was physically present, mentally she seemed to be miles away.

“Still brooding about pretty boy?” he couldn’t help asking, cursing himself as an afterthought for failing to keep the bitterness and jealousy off his voice. “It’s been months since he turned you down, wench--”

She straightened, chin up, her smile widening. “I’m totally over him,” she asserted, her hollow tone, far from definitive. “Renly is my past now, I neither think of him nor do I have any feelings for him.”

“Oh, don’t lie to me.” Jaime couldn’t stand her attempt to mask away her emotions, particularly when he could easily see through the feeble efforts she put in to conceal her heartbreak. “I can sense it when you’re happy. I can see it when you’re low.” He took a second to collect his own thoughts, his feelings for her and his reluctance to act on them because of Renly fucking Baratheon and her undying devotion to him. “He isn’t worth it,” he went on, more softly this time. “You’ll find someone better. You deserve a man who adores you for who you are.”

 _Look into my eyes and see the longing in them, Brienne._ He sighed, wondering if he could ever summon the courage to come clean with her. _Listen to my heart, my unsaid words..._

He was in two minds whether or not to voice what he wanted to say next. “You need a man who loves you, deeply and unconditionally. You just have to keep your eyes and ears open.” Being indirect was no less difficult, but that was the least, and the only thing he could do if he wanted to make any progress, until he gauged the extent of her feelings for Renly.

She responded with a dry laugh. “You say it as if it happens everyday, to every one. As if there’s someone out here tonight who wants me--”

“There could be,” he said, deciding to give it his full effort. Whether his determination was the effect of the romantic night or the wine in his blood, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t care as long as he would be able to get his point through after months of admiring her from afar. “You never know, Brienne.”

She slipped into thought. “Let’s see. Jon’s spoken for,” she began, counting out one finger after another as she started listing the names of men she knew, “and so are Bronn and Addam. Apart from that there’s no one really--”

“Really?” Pained at the exclusion, all he could do was stare at her in disbelief.

Her brows came together in innocent confusion. “Who else--”

At that key moment, there came a huge wave of noise from a couple of adjacent tables. Jaime looked at his watch. With barely about half an hour to go for 2020 to set in, people were bound to get into a celebratory mode. Eager to bring in the new year as more than just her friend, he wanted to have her for himself for the key few minutes until midnight, away from people, away from this disturbance, away from the rest of the world.

He wanted to take her someplace where there would be no one else. 

_Just you and me._

“Let’s get out of here,” he said, getting up abruptly.

She followed suit, but with a confused, “I thought we were going to be here till midnight.”

“We're not. I know just the perfect place for us.”

She shrugged. “Fine.”

Once they had settled the bill, they made their way outdoors, the cool winter breeze and the calm of the night a welcome change from the noise that had prevented him from having a peaceful conversation with her.

“Where are we going?” Brienne asked, her curious eyes reflecting the moonlight, prettier than he’d ever found them to be.

He smiled and replied, “Wait and see,” then led her to a less-frequently used lane behind the restaurant. When they were well away from the crowd and loud music, he got back to where they had left off. “Are Jon, Bronn and Addam the only men worthy of your consideration in this whole wide universe, wench?”

She didn’t answer him, but kept walking, her eyes straight and her pace slightly faster than earlier.

“Well?” he demanded, frustrated that she had successfully failed to see past every hint he had tried to throw her side.

She opened her mouth to speak and he waited, anxious and impatient, but she shut up again, disappointing him, confusing him.

“I could be a good boyfriend, you know,” he blurted, unable to keep quiet anymore.

To his dismay, she burst out laughing. “You?” she asked, her eyes full of mirth and surprise.

He frowned, not at all amused by her reaction. “Why not?”

“You’re kidding,” she waved him away, annoying giggles punctuating her words.

“Who said so?” he snapped, his voice and irritation rising. 

“I--” she hesitated. “I just assumed.”

“You’re wrong,” he corrected her, irked that he couldn’t trigger a better response. “Stop making unfair assumptions about things you don’t know.”

She conceded to him with a tame, “Okay,” but nothing else.

“I’m husband material too,” he proposed, eagerly dropping another clue.

And again, his serious interest in her was met with a dismissive smile and a doubtful, “How can you say so?”

Jaime took a deep breath. “I can feel it in my heart. With the right woman--” he broke off to meet her luminous eyes “--I can be the man she wants. With her, I can be the man I want to be, wench.”

She withstood the intensity of his gaze for a few seconds, then looked away. As usual, having no useful words for him, she strode on, overtaking him.

He marched ahead to match step with her. “You don’t buy that, huh?”

Her expression was something he didn’t know what to make of. “Don't put words into my mouth, Jaime.”

“I can be good with kids too,” he offered, going a step further, picturing his unborn children in her arms, a boy and a girl in their not-so-distant future... if only she would grant him such a future.

Raising her brows, she tossed him a side-glance. “You and kids? You’d be a disaster with them, Jaime. You’re no less than a kid yourself.”

Exasperated, he decided to resort to extremes. “What can I do to prove myself right?” he asked, leading her to another narrow lane to their left.

Halting, she turned to him. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going? We’ve been walking for a while and it’s almost time--”

“We should be there in a minute.” 

When they resumed their stroll, he directed her attention back to the subject. “I’m supposedly good in bed too,” he revealed, lowering his voice, trying not to let the numerous wet dreams he’d had about her shake his ability to think. 

Refusing to look at him this time, she whispered back, “I didn’t ask,” biting her lip as she began fidgeting with her phone.

Jaime, however, was determined not to let go. “I know, but I’m just saying.”

Irritable and impatient as a child, she took to pestering him again, evading the conversation he had been looking forward to, planning for days. “Are we there yet?”

Only then did he realize they had arrived. And he hoped he would soon arrive at his point with her. “Look to your right, Brienne.”

Her eyes widening, she approached their destination with an awestruck look on her face. “What is this place?” she gasped, taking in the breathtaking view their walk ended in, the town below spread out like a beautifully lit necklace. 

“The topmost point of this hill.” He joined her to enjoy, not the view, but the look of childlike innocence in her eyes, of pure unadulterated joy that little things like this gave her. “The most romantic spot out here.”

She still seemed determined to act ignorant. “Why have you brought me here, Jaime?”

He touched her arm, and she turned to face him. “To prove to you that I am a romantic, Brienne.” 

He could see the moon and the stars in her eyes, the whole world, _his_ world in them. There couldn’t be another. There would never be anyone else. If only she would get over Renly and open her eyes to the fact that there was someone who cared more for her than pretty boy ever did... than any other man probably would. He had pinned his hopes on tonight, wanting to open up, wanting to show her how much he-- 

Of course, he could only try. But if she wasn’t up to him, if she was still in love with that Baratheon like he strongly suspected--

Shaking away the negative thoughts of Renly that often took to lurking in the darkest corners of his head, he carried on, “I can be a decent husband, wench.” He took the liberty to move closer to her. “I could take care of the kids--”

She made a sudden movement, crossing her arms to her chest, crying out, “Why are you telling me all this?” the first signs of agitation showing up on her face. “I’m not the one you need to convince. Save your lovely little proclamation of love or proposal or whatever you want to call it for the woman you love instead of engaging in this stupid debate with me to prove a point, to satisfy your ego. Tell Cersei--”

“Cersei was an affair gone horribly wrong,” he said, wiping away her misunderstanding. “I agree we've been on and off many times, but it has never advanced to anything as serious as love. It never will. And all that I just said, my dear wench, has nothing to do with my ego.”

“ _Oh_ ,” came her mellowed down reaction. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have flared up like that.” Her tone was hushed and soft, but was she blushing? He was dying to know though it was impossible to make out in this dim light.

“So?” he whispered, summoning the guts to hold her hand. “Now that I’ve made things clear about Cersei, what do you think about my proclamation of love or proposal or whatever else you want to call it?”

She took her time, hesitating, contemplating, pondering, maybe? “Jaime--”

Distracted, she looked down at his wrist when his watch beeped, indicating it was time. Before she could start hitting him with excuses or confessions that Renly still mattered to her, he decided to take a chance. 

Before she could say another word, he brought his lips to hers, touching her with a tender kiss.

But only a few brief seconds, he allowed it to last, giving her no chance to respond, apprehensive of how she might react if he persisted. “I wanted to bring in this lovely moment with you, Brienne. Here, where it can be us. Just you and me. I know Renly still holds a special place in your heart--”

“He used to,” she interrupted, her eyes crinkling in a heartfelt smile, the lovely shine in them, the answer to all his doubts, “not anymore. Not for a long time. I told you I'm over him. Totally and completely.”

Jaime’s heart soared. So there was hope for more, a bright tomorrow to come. 2019 had not ended that badly, after all. “How about dinner--”

The rest of his words were lost in the best kiss he’d ever had, so sweet, so soft, so delicious and so-- _real_. This time, she was real, and not a figment of one of his wild imaginations, and so was her mouth on his. It was the best feeling ever, so exhilarating, so arousing and so damn intoxicating! Who needed alcohol when a woman like this kissed him with all the passion, all the longing, all the need and ache she'd been harbouring for him?

“Saturday night. Just you and me,” she breathed, running her fingers through his beard. “It’s a date, this time, Jaime. Happy New Year.”

“Happy New year, wench.” Pulling her into his arms, he started kissing her. “Here’s to a year and a lifetime of never being single again.”


End file.
